Over 80 percent of people with periods have experienced some kind of pain associated with their menstruation cycles, research shows. The symptoms are that prevalent but there aren't too many systems in place to help tackle something that affects so many.
Gynaecological health startup Daye is aiming to fix this, with the launch of a digital period pain clinic that it claims is a world-first.
The clinic provides a 360° approach and full virtual service to support those experiencing period pain. The clinic will offer everything from a personalised pain relief routine, diagnosis of gynae health conditions, access to innovative treatments, and advice from specialists, including sexual health nurses, dermatologists, and chronic pelvic pain experts.
SEE ALSO: What to do if PCOS symptoms are impacting your sex lifeThese specialists can help diagnose the root condition and cause of period pain, like endometriosis, adenomyosis, Polycystic Ovaries Syndrome (PCOS), and fibroids. The symptoms that can be examined thereafter range from infertility to hair loss to acne – all of which can be associated with periods but often go untreated. Treatments will then be suggested, with a holistic approach. This can mean anything from hormonal contraception to alternative treatments to lifestyle recommendations to some of Daye's products – such as CBD tampons and organic bamboo pads.
Valentina Milanova, Founder of Daye. Credit: Daye."Like so many others, I've faced the dismissal of my period pain by medical professionals," says Valentina Milanova, Founder of Daye, in a statement. "My own experiences with ovarian cysts and the resultant pain were dismissed time and again. This should not be the case. Nobody’s menstrual pain should be dismissed, which is why we launched our Period Pain Clinic to ensure that nobody has to suffer in silence or be in the dark about the cause or management of their menstrual pain."
To access the service, users first take a 10-15 minute medical questionnaire that will develop a free preview report for keeps. To do so, participants must be aged 18 and above. The clinic then has three paid tiers: standard (£24.99) – which provides a period report and primary insights into your health; advanced (£54.99) – revealing a full report and including a 30-minute consultation with a nurse; or premium (£199.99) – a full report alongside a 30-minute consultation with a pelvic pain specialist who can provide a proper diagnosis of any associated condition.
The initial questionnaire was developed using guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, National Institute for Care Excellence, and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
The data you provide will be de-identified and double-encrypted, so Daye and its partners will not be able to personally identify any of the data. However, the data will be shared, pro-bono, with research institutions like Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
As of now, the period pain clinic is only available in the UK but the company tells Mashable they have plans to expand globally.
SEE ALSO: The gender health gap makes people's lives hellDaye, a UK-based femtech founded in 2017, developed the clinic in collaboration with National Health Service (NHS) practitioners and gynaecologists. The period pain clinic is also an answer to a heavily-burdened public healthcare system in the UK. Telehealth services and companies like Daye can offer faster, on-demand services for specific issues within women's healthcare. A 2022 McKinsey report on femtech found that interest and funding in such companies are surging, as femtech can increasingly provide "a wide range of solutions...across a number of female-specific conditions", including menstrual health.
